Two-month-old baby recovers in Shanghai Children's Medical Center after operation to remove third arm on June 6, 2006. (Getty Images)

According to the Mingpao News , a two-month old baby who was born with three arms had a surgical operation at the Shanghai Childrens Medical Center to remove one arm. The leading surgeon said that the operation was successful, but the baby will need time to recover.

The child, Jiejie, was born with two left arms on April 1 in a small hospital in Anhui province. Both left arms were well developed but lacked full functionality, which made the doctors' decision difficult. They eventually decided to remove the inner arm because its potential for growth was less favorable that the outer arm.

Jiejie was sent to Shanghai because the local medical facility was inadequate. The surgery cost between 20,000 and 30,000 yuan (US$ 2,500 to 3,700) and was covered by the Medical Center. The operation lasted three hours.

Baby Jie Jie before his operation to remove the inner left arm. (Getty Images)